Industry Verification Expert Harry Foster Joins Mentor Graphics

WILSONVILLE, Ore., January 31, 2006 - Mentor Graphics (Nasdaq: MENT) today announced that Harry D. Foster, Chairman of the Accellera Formal Verification Committee, Chairman of the IEEE-1850 PSL Working Group and pioneer of assertion-based verification methods, has joined Mentor Graphics' Design Verification & Test Division as principal engineer.

Mr. Foster, an industry authority and sought-after expert on formal verification, is the original developer of the Open Verification Library (OVL) for assertions. He recently authored Applied Formal Verification, and co-authored two notable industry books, Principles of RTL Design and Assertion-Based Design. At Mentor, Mr. Foster will lead the development of functional verification methods and tools within the 0-In{reg} Verification Business Unit, and work with the ModelSim{reg}/Questa™ products verification team on methodology and product integration. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland, and a M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Texas, Dallas.

"We are very excited and proud to have Harry Foster join Mentor's team of distinguished verification experts," said Robert Hum, vice president and general manager, Design Verification and Test division, Mentor Graphics. "His expertise in advanced verification methodologies reinforces Mentor's number one position in functional verification, and his appointment supports our strategy of being the clear leader in functional design verification."

Advancing Mentor's Functional Verification Strategy

Mr. Foster joins Mentor's team of verification experts which includes: Dr. L. Curtis Widdoes, co-founder of 0-In Design Automation (acquired by Mentor Graphics in 2004); Randy Misustin and Doug Warmke, development leaders of the industry-leading ModelSim simulator; and noted verification technologists Dr. Ping Yeung and Tom Fitzpatrick. As the leader in standards-based functional verification, Mentor has established a solid team of technologists to develop methodologies to address today's verification challenges. The team's developments include the Questa verification platform - the industry's first standards-based, single-kernel verification engine - the 0-In family of advanced verification products, and the SVA and PSL versions of Open Verification Library (OVL) which was donated to Accellera last year.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $700 million and employs approximately 4,000 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.

Mentor Graphics, ModelSim, and 0-In are registered trademarks and Questa is a trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, please contact:

Larry Toda
Mentor Graphics
503.685.1664
larry_toda@mentor.com

Ry Schwark
Mentor Graphics
503.685.1660
ry_schwark@mentor.com